BCRantzilla
08-24-2005, 12:04 AM
In the last 2 years we have seen various attempts to start an A-Level minor pro hockey league. We saw the IIHL, NEHL and WHA2 and SEHL all go up in smoke in some cases a mere weeks after getting off the ground. Today, only a merged WHA2/SEHL, now known as the SPHL exists of the 4 that skated in 2003.
The SPHL clearly has fans but the problem has been arena leases that have averaged between $5-10,000 a night. This is with a salary cap of about 5 grand a week per team. Pretty decent sized cap for A-Puck really. Still, teams are hemoraging money and 3 teams have fallen by the wayside, replaced by just 2. This leaves the beliegered SPHL with 7 teams going into next year.
Asheville's problems have been well documented by Dennis Justice on WNCSport.com so it may be a mercy killing for that franchise to disappear based on what has been written about them. However, with a Killbreath in training like Waronker still owning teams and being defacto commissioner, the SPHL is clearly on shaky ground still.
While the SPHL seems doomed to fail with the shady characters still in charge, it has shown that there is a market for this level of hockey. Even teams drawing 1000-1500 fans a game could concievably break even in the right situation.
It all comes down to travel costs and rink fees. Player salaries aren't an issue because $150-300 per game on average isn't going to sink any league. The maximum amount teams should have to pay for a rink in A-Puck is between $2500-3000 per night. This is the lowest step on the minor league hockey ladder and no team should be paying ECHL or AHL money for use of the arenas they play in.
Now comes arena size. You aren't going to sell out MSG with A-Puck level hockey like they do in the Quebec Senior League so stop trying. You will likely draw between 1000 and 2000 paying fans if you are lucky so look for rinks that seat that many fans. The teams in the Northern League in baseball with the only exception of Winnipeg and St. Paul don't have many more than 6000 seats and the average attendance league wide excluding the Goldeyes and Saints is about 3500. This should give you a pretty good idea as to how well you will draw.
If you can secure a series of arenas in that size and price range, then a sustainable league is possible. Losses would be minimal, travel costs would be lower and everyone would still get paid! (Players not missing a payday, WHAT A CONCEPT!)
I get great enjoyment out of the Northern League calibre of baseball at the A level and would love very much to see a hockey league thrive at this level too. I hope this year more improvement at the organization level occurs because I am sick of being angry at the state of minor league hockey all the time.
Rant's over, end of line.
The SPHL clearly has fans but the problem has been arena leases that have averaged between $5-10,000 a night. This is with a salary cap of about 5 grand a week per team. Pretty decent sized cap for A-Puck really. Still, teams are hemoraging money and 3 teams have fallen by the wayside, replaced by just 2. This leaves the beliegered SPHL with 7 teams going into next year.
Asheville's problems have been well documented by Dennis Justice on WNCSport.com so it may be a mercy killing for that franchise to disappear based on what has been written about them. However, with a Killbreath in training like Waronker still owning teams and being defacto commissioner, the SPHL is clearly on shaky ground still.
While the SPHL seems doomed to fail with the shady characters still in charge, it has shown that there is a market for this level of hockey. Even teams drawing 1000-1500 fans a game could concievably break even in the right situation.
It all comes down to travel costs and rink fees. Player salaries aren't an issue because $150-300 per game on average isn't going to sink any league. The maximum amount teams should have to pay for a rink in A-Puck is between $2500-3000 per night. This is the lowest step on the minor league hockey ladder and no team should be paying ECHL or AHL money for use of the arenas they play in.
Now comes arena size. You aren't going to sell out MSG with A-Puck level hockey like they do in the Quebec Senior League so stop trying. You will likely draw between 1000 and 2000 paying fans if you are lucky so look for rinks that seat that many fans. The teams in the Northern League in baseball with the only exception of Winnipeg and St. Paul don't have many more than 6000 seats and the average attendance league wide excluding the Goldeyes and Saints is about 3500. This should give you a pretty good idea as to how well you will draw.
If you can secure a series of arenas in that size and price range, then a sustainable league is possible. Losses would be minimal, travel costs would be lower and everyone would still get paid! (Players not missing a payday, WHAT A CONCEPT!)
I get great enjoyment out of the Northern League calibre of baseball at the A level and would love very much to see a hockey league thrive at this level too. I hope this year more improvement at the organization level occurs because I am sick of being angry at the state of minor league hockey all the time.
Rant's over, end of line.